Just over 12 per cent of the teenagers interviewed as part of the study had thought about suicide (file picture)

Roughly one in 25 teenagers in the U.S. has attempted suicide, while one in eight has thought about it, according to a national study based on interviews with thousands of teens.

Researchers said the numbers were similar to the prevalence of lifetime suicidal thinking and attempts reported by adults, suggesting the teenage years are an especially vulnerable time.

The results are based on face-to-face interviews of close to 6,500 teens in the United States, along with questionnaires filled out by their parents.

Along with asking the youths about their suicidal thinking, plans and attempts, interviewers also determined which teens fit the bill for a range of mental disorders.

Matthew Nock, a psychologist who worked on the study at Harvard University, said: 'What adults say is, the highest risk time for first starting to think about suicide is in adolescence.'

The findings, which appeared in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, suggest just over 12 per cent of the youths had thought about suicide, while four per cent had made a suicide plan and four per cent had attempted suicide.

Nock and his colleagues found almost all teens who thought about or attempted suicide had a mental disorder, including depression, bipolar disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or problems with drug or alcohol abuse.

More than half of the youths were already in treatment when they reported suicidal behavior, which Nock said was both encouraging and disturbing.

He said: 'We know that a lot of the kids who are at risk and thinking about suicide are getting (treatment).'

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But he warned: 'We don't know how to stop them - we don't have any evidence-based treatments for suicidal behavior.'

The findings leave many questions unanswered.

Because most youths who think about suicide never go on to make an actual plan or attempt it, doctors need to get better at figuring out which ones are most at risk of putting themselves in danger, according to Nock.

More than half of the youths were already in treatment when they reported suicidal behavior, which researchers say is both encouraging and disturbing (file picture)

Once those youths are identified, researchers will also have to determine the best way to treat them, since it's clear a lot of current methods aren't preventing suicidal behavior, he said.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, suicide is the third leading cause of death for people between the ages of ten and 24.

Although girls are more likely to attempt suicide - a pattern confirmed by Nock's study - boys have higher rates of death by suicide.